I..... think I can I ....think I can I ...think I can. I ..think I can. I think I can!

I feel like I am that Casey Jr. train just cresting the top of the mountain. Could I have just had my last structural surgery? Dr. Peter says everything looks great and I'm on the mend. If I can fort off infection or any other complication, I will be cruisin' down the other side of that mountain!

I did my usual ride down the hall ways into the operating room. This time I was first for the day and was in la la land before 6:15 am. I joked with the surgical staff before my trip to la la land to see if they had, say, blue head wrap stuff but they laughed and said they only do white? Why is that anyway? Dr. Peter and Heather and I talked before surgery where he would take the second skin graft from. We finally decided to take the skin from my leg right next to my first donor site. After attending a Burn Survivors Support Group meeting last Thursday. I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears about what others have gone through. One man had both his arms and body burned badly and they had to use both his legs for donor sites. This man said they took so much skin from him that the only spot to take blood pressure from was right on his ankle/leg area that just had skin harvested. Every 15 minutes, squeeze, pain, squeeze, pain. My 2 little donor sites are small potatoes compared to what many others endure. I am limping a bit with my current donor site and can't imagine trying to walk with both my legs getting peeled!!
I awoke from my 6th little surgery and was walking to the bathroom by 8:11 am....yeah I looked at the clock. When you have been down for 50 plus days, getting out of bed as fast as I can after surgery is kind of an athletic event..you know...its a guy thing! hah. On Saturday I offered to help a certain someone assemble an almost assembled bike that they were giving to a certain someone else for Mother's Day. Naturally I had to take it for a test ride to see if it was working properly. I was a little scared to put both feet on the pedals but I just had to do it. It was a blast cruising around the driveway with the bike. Kind of a dangerous thing for me to do right now but what a boon to my mental repair! ( Can we keep this just between you and me? if Heather found out she might be a little upset! ha.)
It's pretty much protocol to have a patient stay the night after a skin graft so that is just what I did. After, I bet, 20 days in the hospital, I was bored and ancy. Don't get me wrong though, the nurses and docs where their usual incredible selves, but I just wanted to get out of there. Imagine the guy I met at the support group meeting who spent 10.5 months in the hospital and 5 of those in ICU! This man tried to save his brother from a burning home and paid dearly for it. Sadly his brother died.
So what is next? I go back to GBC for the unveiling of my head on Monday. I am hoping to drive myself this time. Dr. Peter said he may take the current drain tube out of my head but will have to wrap me back up for more healing. Except for the poking and cleaning, how nice it will be to have my head ( and chin) free of the gauze and garb for a few precious minutes. I am hoping they can wrap it back up so that my ears will show but the chin strap has to stay to keep the covering tied to my head. Once again I end a post here with a grateful heart. Inconveniences or not...I'm alive. You're alive. Yaahhooo!
Sincerely, the guy in the white wrap.----Todd

PS. A special hello and thank you to my Oregon contingent. Some of you I don't even know and you care so much. Thank You!. God Bless You!

PSS. Happy Mother's Day to, of course, to all you mothers out there! I know I am thankful for the mother of my children, Heather. She is an incredible woman and has been by my side during this little bump in the road! Blessings.